At 11 p.m. Tuesday, the Detroit Red Wings traded Olli Määttä for a 2025 third-round pick (originally NYR).
This came as a bit of a surprise seeing as the only "rumors" of him being traded were just Red Wings fans discussing how to make more space on the roster without needing to move High-Value assets. Seems like Steve Yzerman realized this too and moved the defenseman for that purpose.
UPDATE: The #RedWings have traded defenseman Olli Maatta to the Utah Hockey Club in exchange for a 3rd round pick in 2025. pic.twitter.com/XUy7a6TvpM
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 30, 2024
Määttä may not have been the flashiest defenseman in the league, but he was undoubtedly one of the most stable defensemen in the league. During the 2023-24 campaign, he was a +14 and while +/- is widely regarded as a weak stat, when you get into the double digits in either direction, it tends to paint a better picture of how you play the game. This season in seven games he was kind of 50/50, some nights he was the defensive stalwart we saw when he was first signed in Detroit, and others he was getting caved in every other play.
Nevertheless, he became one of those small-time fan favorites who nobody hated and everybody seemed to like him as a comfort player. As you may know, I have a soft spot for defensive defensemen in my heart so Määttä was always a player that I enjoyed watching.
Just seeing how more often than not he was in the right place at the right time. The way those types of defensemen can read plays and know where and when to be was always incredible to me and it's what I based my playstyle off of as a defenseman.
What does this mean for the Red Wings roster?
It's no secret that the Red Wings had WAY too many defensemen to start the season. running with eight defensemen wasn't going to be sustainable for the entire season. The original answer to this problem seemed to be waiving Justin Holl, but now as he's been called back up for the foreseeable future, the blue line is once again packed.
The player most affected by a packed blue line seems to be Albert Johansson, who after extending with the Red Wings this offseason it was hoped he'd be able to at least share the ice time with guys like Määttä and Holl. Now we're nearly 10 games into the season and he just got back into the lineup after being scratched five games in a row in no small part due to the lack of space on the blue line. The Määttä move will allow the Red Wings to get Johansson into the lineup more often and let his development at the pro level continue with minimal interruptions.
One thing this move suggests is the return of Tyler Motte who was injured October 17th in a game against the Rangers. He was seen at team practice today for the first time since his injury. This means that if not for this move, the Red Wings would have had to send somebody down to Grand Rapids to fit him on the roster.
Unfortunately, that was likely gonna be Kasper had he not kicked the door down and proved that he's good enough to be on the team full-time. The good news is that we don't have to worry about that potential problem now. This move opens up a roster spot to be able to keep Kasper on the roster as well as rotate a forward in and out of the lineup.
The question of the day now is "Was it a good move?". The answer to this question is: Yes, This was a good move. Määttä is in the last year of his current two-year $6 million contract extension and was likely gonna go to free agency after this season so it's a good deal just for not losing him for nothing. You also free up the space on the left side of the blue line, giving other guys a chance in the lineup that otherwise would've sat for a game or two in a row.